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Worried about store card debt?

Store card debt. Advice if you're in arrears.

Store cards are a type of finance agreement that lets you buy goods in certain shops and pay for them later.

You get a plastic card which you can use to pay, and you’ll be billed later by the store card company. You can choose to pay the debt in one go or pay it off over time in instalments.

Features of store cards

Most store cards will give you an incentive to open an account. This could be a percentage off your first purchase on the card, vouchers, access to special events or other perks.

This can make a store card look like a good idea, but there’s a big catch – the rate of interest is usually 20-30% APR or more, which is higher than many credit cards.

This means if you get the discounts and pay off the card balance straight away, you should end up saving money. But if you don’t pay it off immediately, the interest rate means that you are likely to end up paying a lot more.

Some of the risks of store cards are:

It’s tempting to spend on a store card and run up a debt that you can’t pay off in full at the end of the month

You’re more likely to use your store card instead of shopping around for the best deal. This means you can end up missing better bargains elsewhere

Store cards usually have a small credit limit, but this may be increased as you keep using the card. A higher credit limit means you risk running up a larger debt which will be harder to repay

Store cards are often promoted in shops at the tills, but the shop staff may not be able to give full information about interest rates, minimum payments or charges. Store cards may be promoted to people who don’t need them or can’t afford them

Store card debt help

If you’ve got a store card that you’re struggling to pay, we can help you. Our online Debt Remedy tool can give you personalised debt advice and recommend a tailored solution to help deal with the debts you have.

If you’d prefer to talk to us, call our Helpline (free from all landlines and mobiles).